Associated Press stories, Page 1849
AP Top 25: Notre Dame over A&M in final regular-season poll
Alabama, Clemson and Ohio State topped the final Associated Press college football poll of the regular season Sunday with No. 4 Notre Dame comfortably ahead of No. 5 Texas A&M. Before the College Football Playoff selection committee revealed its selections for the final, AP Top 25 voters released their final...
As end approaches, Trump gets doses of flattery, finality
NEW YORK — President Donald Trump’s administration is ending how it began, with over-the-top declarations of praise for the chief executive. But now the flattery is mixed with a sense of finality as key people in the president’s orbit are beginning to turn the page and acknowledge his defeat. Trump...
Lacking legal immunity, businesses fear covid-19 lawsuits
PORTLAND, Maine — Plans for a lawsuit against a Maine venue that hosted what became a “superspreader” wedding reception underscore the liability risks to small businesses amid the coronavirus pandemic and an uphill push by Republicans in Congress to give such outfits legal immunity. Behemoths like Walmart and Tyson Foods,...
Several EU nations halt UK flights, fearing virus variant
BERLIN — One by one, several European Union nations banned flights from the U.K. on Sunday and others were considering similar action in a bid to block a new strain of coronavirus sweeping across southern England from establishing a strong foothold on the continent. Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria and...
College Football Playoff semifinal moved from Rose Bowl to AT&T Stadium in Texas
The College Football Playoff semifinal scheduled to be played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena on Jan. 1 is relocating to the Dallas Cowboys’ stadium in Texas, a move prompted by California’s ban on spectators at sporting events during the pandemic. College Football Playoff executive director Bill Hancock said Saturday...
Packers outlast Panthers for 4th straight victory
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Aaron Jones rushed for 145 yards and a touchdown as the Green Bay Packers reached the end zone on their first three series before hanging on to beat the Carolina Panthers, 24-16, on Saturday night. Aaron Rodgers threw for a season-low 143 yards but produced a...
Najee Harris scores 5 TDs, No. 1 Bama escapes No. 11 Florida
ATLANTA — Najee Harris scored five touchdowns and No. 1 Alabama advanced to the College Football Playoff with a perfect record, holding off No. 11 Florida in a 52-46 shootout for the Southeastern Conference championship Saturday night. The Crimson Tide (11-0, No. 1 CFP) got its toughest test in a...
Tiger’s son makes TV debut, looks at home during PNC ChampionshipVideo
The guy with a swoosh on his shirt and a Tiger head cover on his driver looked pretty good. So did Tiger Woods. Charlie Woods, the 11-year-old son of the 15-time major champion, made his national TV debut Saturday in the PNC Championship. And according to his dad, he played...
Jahan Dotson powers Penn State past Illinois for 4th straight win
Jahan Dotson sliced his way through Illinois defenders as if he were juking through a gauntlet of orange practice cones on Saturday night. It’s become typical for Penn State’s top wideout who has posted standout performances all season inside Beaver Stadium, where the Nittany Lions (4-5) beat Illinois, 56-21, to...
AP: MLB payrolls drop nearly $2.5B in pandemicVideo
NEW YORK — Major League Baseball payrolls plunged to $1.75 billion during the pandemic-shortened season from $4.22 billion, and the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers led with $98.6 million — the smallest for the top spender in 20 years. Base wages for 40-man rosters tumbled to $1.54 billion, according...
AP sources: Trump floats Sidney Powell as special counsel
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump floated naming lawyer Sidney Powell, who was booted from his campaign’s legal team after pushing unfounded conspiracy theories, as a special counsel investigating allegations of voter fraud. During a Friday meeting at the White House, Trump went as far as discussing getting Powell security clearance,...
NHL eyes division play only; Sharks to play in ArizonaVideo
The NHL is preparing for a pandemic-altered regular season limited to divisional play while trying to determine if the league’s seven Canadian teams will be allowed to play in their country. Taxi squads also are coming back as part of a tentative return-to-play plan reached Friday, and at least one...
Bills beat Broncos for first AFC East crown since 1995Video
DENVER — The Buffalo Bills captured their first AFC East title in a quarter-century Saturday when 24-year-old quarterback Josh Allen threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more in a 48-19 rout of the Denver Broncos. The Bills (11-3) scored twice in a 17-second span in the third quarter...
Trevor Lawrence, Clemson rout No. 2 Notre Dame for ACC titleVideo
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — After a heartbreaking double-overtime loss to Notre Dame last month, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney assured his players in the locker room there would be no trophy handed out that night. There would, however, be one up for grabs when they got to Charlotte for the ACC championship...
Pentagon plan on cyber split draws strong Hill criticism
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon is proposing to end an arrangement in which a single military officer leads two of the nation’s main cybersecurity organizations, a move that a leading Democrat said Saturday makes him “profoundly concerned” amid a large-scale hacking campaign on U.S. government computer systems. Rep. Adam Smith, chairman...
Saints All-Pro receiver Michael Thomas to miss rest of regular season
NEW ORLEANS — The New Orleans Saints placed receiver Michael Thomas on injured reserve Saturday, a move that allows the Saints to give a healthy player Thomas’ active roster spot for their final three regular-season games while resting their star receiver for the playoffs. Thomas, the 2019 AP Offensive Player...
Biden introduces his climate team, says ‘no time to waste’
WILMINGTON, Del. — Just as the United States has needed a unified, national response to COVID-19, it needs one for dealing with climate change, President-elect Joe Biden said Saturday as he rolled out key members of his environmental team. “We literally have no time to waste,” Biden told reporters as...
Trump downplays Russia in 1st comments on cyberattack
WASHINGTON — Contradicting his secretary of state and other top officials, President Donald Trump on Saturday suggested without evidence that China — not Russia — may be behind the cyberattack against the United States and tried to minimized its impact. In his first comments on the breach, Trump scoffed at...
West Virginia spent little on masks, gloves in early pandemic
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia, the last state to report a coronavirus case, spent relatively little on protective medical gear during the early months of the pandemic compared to other states, an Associated Press analysis shows. While other states spent tens of millions of dollars, sometimes trusting new companies that...
Oklahoma wins 6th Big 12 title in row, beats Iowa State
ARLINGTON, Texas — Spencer Rattler threw a 45-yard touchdown to Marvin Mims and also ran for a score as No. 12 Oklahoma won its sixth consecutive Big 12 title, holding on to beat No. 8 Iowa State, 27-21, in the conference championship game Saturday. That impressive title streak probably won’t...
Ohio State beats Northwestern in Big Ten championship, waits for CFP decisionVideo
INDIANAPOLIS — Trey Sermon ran for a school-record 331 yards and two second-half touchdowns Saturday, helping No. 3 Ohio State rally for a 22-10 victory over Northwestern for a fourth consecutive Big Ten championship. The Buckeyes (6-0) will find out Sunday if they’ve done enough to earn one of four...
This date in sports history: Dec. 20Video
1921 — Baseball commissioner Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis casts the deciding vote to return to best-of-seven World Series from the best-of-nine format. The American League votes to return to best-of-seven World Series, and National League votes for the best-of-nine format. The a best-of-nine series was used in 1903 and 1919-21....
‘Hurting for hope,’ South Dakota rural churches mark Advent
CANTON, S.D. — The Nativity stable at Canton Lutheran Church will be silent this year, breaking from a community tradition of gathering for a live Christmas performance. Instead, churches in this rural corner of South Dakota are grappling with how to approach an Advent filled with quiet mourning after the...
Biden environmental team heavy on experience, diversity
WILMINGTON, Del. — President-elect Joe Biden hopes the environmental team he is set to introduce on Saturday will steer America toward greater action to curb climate change and protect the nation’s air and water. Donald Trump’s presidency has been marked by efforts to boost oil and gas production while rolling...
Mississippi former Gov. Winter dies; pushed education reform
JACKSON, Miss. — Former Mississippi Gov. William Winter, a Democrat who pushed to strengthen public education in one of the poorest states in the U.S. and to improve race relations across the nation, has died. He was 97. Winter, who was governor from 1980 to 1984, died Friday night at...
